Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Issue #1 Review

Written by: Kyle Higgins
Illustrated by: Hendry Prasetya
Colors by: Matt Herms
Letters by: Ed Dukeshire
Published by: BOOM! Studios

 
The Power Rangers are a nostalgic staple of those who were raised in the 1990’s. Whether you were/are a fan of the show, or simply know it through its reputation, you probably have developed an opinion of it.  Does this first issue of Power Rangers live up to whatever made the television show so popular? 

If readers are new to Power Rangers and are using this comic as a way to break into the series, they will probably find it very underwhelming, considering that issue #1 begins right in the middle of the Power Rangers’ story. Most of the information given has already taken place, which may not be the best route for trying to captivate a new audience or engage hardcore fans. There is very little action in these 28 pages; everything is weighted heavily on exposition, which strays away from the usually PR1action-packed scenes associated with the Power Rangers. The first four pages consist of Bulk and Skull giving backstory that probably would have been better off actually being shown. There are also pointless setups, such as Jason and Zack receiving detention. Why? So they can provide even more exposition to the readers. This overflow of information from the past leaves little time to develop concerns for a current plot to form; very little actually happens in this issue. However, there is an issue #0, which may provide a better starting point for new readers.

As far as art goes, Hendry Prasetya and Matt Herms create a basic, but an overall fitting style for the comic. The designs of the characters work well to fit into the current decade.Though Herms’ use of a pastel pallet does washout the colors on the Ranger uniforms, which is a dull contrast to the intensely bright colors of the 90’s uniforms.